1. Technical Field
This disclosure relates generally to a mashup in a user interface of a data processing system, and, more specifically, to visually searching for a widget in a populated mashup of a user interface in the data processing system.
2. Description of the Related Art
A mashup may be described as an application (e.g., a Web application) that combines multiple services into a single application or combines data from multiple sources. For example, the mashup may combine data from two sources (e.g., overlaying map data from one source with store location data from another source). In a data processing environment, when a mashup has a large number of widgets, only a small portion of the widgets can be visible within a display area at any given time. A widget may be described as a representation (e.g., an image, a graphic or icon) representing an application or data set. Finding a specific widget from among the widgets available may be difficult because a user does not know exactly where to scroll to locate the desired widget.
One previous solution to the problem allows the user to zoom out the mashup enough to fit the mashup on the screen. The widgets may be scaled or clipped to fit with a defined display area. However, finding the desired widget may be impossible when the widgets are too small to discern individually. The user may resort to scrolling through the application anyway.
Another method of finding widgets includes a search or find functionality. The search typically requires more steps because the user has to type enough information in the search field to uniquely identify the widget. The identification relies on the user remembering enough textual information in the widget to uniquely identify the specific widget.
In another previous solution, widgets are arranged in a stack or cascade on a dashboard to fit the number of widgets into the available display area. The solution arranges the widgets into a smaller space. However, a user is still required to move the widgets and either moves the widget out of the stack or uses a menu based process to access the widget. In a variation using the stack, only the top widget is visible and may be changed using a slide show effect to present the different widgets to the user. Stacking or cascading techniques typically change the visual orientation and physical placement relationship among the widgets of interest. Previous solutions typically describe ways to fit more content in the available space, either by cascading the widgets, or by scaling the widgets. The previous solutions typically represent permanent changes in the dashboard layout. An easy to use reliable method of locating a widget without changing a dashboard layout is required.